The Saskatchewan Electronic Resources Partnership (SERP) is a province-wide program in which libraries pool funds to purchase access to electronic information resources: magazines, journals, newspapers, directories, reference books, and other information resources.
The SERP has significantly enhanced access to electronic information resources for Saskatchewan residents. Because libraries pool their funds, the overall contribution of any one library is greatly reduced. Smaller libraries with small budgets can thus access a more extensive array of information resources, which would otherwise be impossible for them to acquire by themselves. These resources are also accessible from a user’s home computer, and the program, therefore, effectively extends access to all Saskatchewan residents, a large number of whom still live in small urban, rural, and remote areas. Through the SERP, libraries are helping to close the digital divide, and are working to ensure that all citizens have access to the quality information that is so important to education, to work, and to leisure in a global, knowledge-based economy.